I am making wine jelly and have run out of lemons. I have some citric acid in the pantry. Can I use the citric acid instead? The jelly calls for half a cup of lemon juice. If I can use it, how much citric acid would I use?
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Yes you can. Don't know about the quantity though. I'd just add it in small quantities until it tastes right.– Chris CudmoreCommented May 7, 2012 at 23:54
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1@ChrisCudmore, the lemon juice is used mostly to bring up the acidity, not for taste. So adding the citric acid based on taste sounds like a bad idea.– JayCommented May 8, 2012 at 0:59
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Yep, unless you trust your tongue as much as a pH meter, you're going to want to be sure about quantities.– Cascabel ♦Commented May 8, 2012 at 5:27
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1Though actually... I don't know your recipe, but I think wine typically has a pH (3ish) well below the cutoff I've seen for boiling water canning (4.6)?– Cascabel ♦Commented May 8, 2012 at 5:35
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5 Answers
Yes, you can. In fact, many canning and jarring recipes specifically call for citric acid.
Presumably you are using citric acid in its dried, crystalline form. In that case, a solution of around 4% citric acid (e.g. 4gm in 100ml of water) should be around the same strength as lemon juice.
answered May 8, 2012 at 2:34
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Compared to the lemon juice, citric acid solution won't be as flavorful. I imagine you could dissolve the citric acid in something else to keep from diluting the jelly, though then you might want to know about the pH of that something else.– Cascabel ♦Commented May 8, 2012 at 5:34
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No doubt. Although most of the flavor from lemon juice is the citric acid (and ascorbic acid) in it, so I doubt it would mar the flavor that much. Commented May 8, 2012 at 6:10
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In 7 cups of jelly, I couldn't taste half a cup of lemon juice, but I think I'll add a bit more than the suggestion just to be safe with my pH levels (even though, as mentioned above, the pH levels are probably already OK).– ChandraCommented May 9, 2012 at 1:28
This link http://www.livestrong.com/article/520416-how-to-substitute-lemon-juice-for-citric-acid/ says 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid substitutes 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
So for half a cup of lemon juice, use two teaspoons of citric acid, and compensate for the missing liquid.
answered May 8, 2012 at 15:22
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Hmmm. So they claim lemon juice is equal to a 6% solution of citric acid, instead of 4%. I wonder which is correct? Commented May 9, 2012 at 6:18
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They could both be correct depending on the variety of lemon used. Commented May 9, 2012 at 12:28
I just read you can add 3g citric acid/l or kg to make jam or marmalade.
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1It would help to know where you read this - we have no way to verify the accuracy of this ratio.– AaronutCommented Feb 10, 2013 at 21:53
I googled it, and it says 1/4 teaspoon citric acid= 1tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon citric acid =1/4 cup lemon juice
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Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. This was already stated in a previous answer; if you have something more to contribute, please edit it in. Commented Aug 19, 2018 at 2:17
The rule of thumb:1 Tablespoon of lemon juice can be swapped for 1/4 tsp of citric acid powder for canning. But citric acid is not used for adding flavor. It is used more like a preservative. For jams or jellies I would strongly suggest you use lemon juice.
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Howdy! Welcome to SA! You're offering an answer which is substantially the same as prior answers, though, which you may find doesn't get upvoted. When answering a question, please check to make sure the answer you're giving hasn't already been posted. Commented Oct 17, 2022 at 22:52